MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Junior outfielder Mason Lytle launched two home runs to lift the UTSA baseball team to a 7-5 win over Memphis in American Athletic Conference action, earning the series win on Sunday afternoon at FedEx Park in Memphis, Tenn.
QUICK HITS
· James Taussig led the team with a career best 3-for-4 game, picking up one run, three RBI and a home run – his fifth of the season.
· Mason Lytle collected two hits, both of them home runs, while also recording two runs and four RBI.
· Starting pitcher Ulises Quiroga (4-0) picked up his fourth win, striking out four batters in five innings pitched.
· Fischer Kingsbery kept the Tigers scoreless and struck out five, picking up his second save of the season.
· UTSA improved to a 21-15 overall record (9-3 in AAC play), while Memphis fell to an 18-19 overall record (6-6 in conference action).
· The Roadrunners have won all four of its conference series thus far, two home series and two road series.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GAME
On the very first pitch of the game, Lytle launched the ball past the left center field wall for a solo home run, getting the Roadrunners offense started on a high note. A few more runners got on base as Alexander Olivo walked and Matt King hit a double. Next, a double by Taussig brought them both home to give UTSA an early 3-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the frame, Quiroga allowed a leadoff single that eventually got to third on a couple wild pitches, but he escaped the inning unscathed. The Tigers scattered a couple of runs through the second and third innings to make it a one-run game as the score then sat at 3-2 after three frames.
The Roadrunners added a run to their advantage (4-2) in the top of the fourth frame as Lytle hit a sacrifice fly with bases loaded, bringing home Lorenzo Morresi from third.
Memphis took its first advantage of the game in the bottom of the fifth as a three-run home run by the Tigers gave them a 5-4 lead.
That didn’t last long as the Roadrunners got two back in the top of the next inning. The Tigers got the first two outs quickly on a popout and flyout, but the Roadrunners didn’t stop fighting. Zane Spinn hit a single up the middle, before Lytle followed that with his second home run of the game to give UTSA a 6-5 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Kingsbery took over on the mound and would go on to keep the Tigers scoreless for the rest of the game. He recorded two strikeouts to end the sixth frame.
Taussig recorded UTSA’s third home run of the game as he sent one to right center with two outs in the seventh to extend the Roadrunners’ lead to 7-5. After the stretch, Kingsbery allowed a couple baserunners in the bottom of the inning but won the battle as he kept the Tigers off the board again.
Kingsbery continued to battle on the mound in the bottom of the eighth as he allowed a leadoff single to Memphis and a fielder’s choice but neither came in to score. He ended the inning with a big swinging strikeout.
In the bottom of the ninth, Kingsbery got the Tigers down in order using a flyout, strikeout and groundout to do the job. The Roadrunners took a 7-5 series-clinching win against Memphis on Sunday.
ON DECK
The Roadrunners return home on Tuesday, April 16, hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 6 p.m. at Roadrunner Field on Baseball History Day.
-UTSA-